Canada-Wide Arrest Warrant Issued for Suspect in Body Part Mailings

Authorities have issued a “Canada-wide arrest warrant” for Rocco Luka Magnotta, a suspect police have connected to a homicide and the mailings of two body parts.

Magnotta, 29, also goes by the pseudonyms Eric Clinton Newman and Vladimir Romanov, according to the Montreal Police Department, and some of these aliases have been linked to porn films.

A human foot was mailed to the Ottawa headquarters of the Conservative Party of Canada. It was discovered on Tuesday by a receptionist, who contacted authorities after receiving a blood-soaked package.

Later in the day, police seized a second package at an Ottawa post office that contained a hand. Authorities have not said where the second package was addressed.

Authorities confirmed that the body parts mailed to Ottawa originated in Montreal.

Also on Tuesday, a janitor found a male torso in a suitcase in Montreal’s Cote-des-Neiges neighborhood. Tips led investigators to a residence on Decaire Boulevard, also in the Cote-des-Neiges neighborhood, where they conducted a search. Evidence from the scene is being tested.

“Currently, concrete elements allow police to believe that the events are linked,” Montreal Police said in a statement today, referring to the discovery of the torso and the mailing of the body parts. “However, before concluding beyond doubt that a link exists, investigators await the results of pathological expertise.”

Police have been vague about how they arrived at Magnotta as a suspect, but did say that they believe the male victim whose torso was discovered in a suitcase knew his attacker, Montreal police Commander Ian Lafreniere told reporters on Wednesday, according to CTV.

Magnotta is white with black hair and blue eyes. He is 5 feet 10 inches and weighs about 135 pounds.